By Gisele Dierks
Happy Thursday!
COOK OUT DELAYED!!
Due to the forecast for this weekend, and our strong desire to make this a big event, we have decided to wait until next weekend to do Joel’s honorary cookout! So plan to come Memorial Day weekend to celebrate! We will feast Saturday, May 29 around 5 PM. Flying, food, fire, etc.
Last Weekend
Last weekend turned out to be a direct example of how special Morningside can be. Saturday was an incredible weather day for New England pilots. Here at Morningside we had two HG pilots off tow head up to 11,500+ ft. Our soon-to-be tug pilot Ilya Rivkin went out to Unity, then over to Ascutney and back in his hang glider. Later in the day we had several PG pilots fly down from West Rutland to land here and as far as 180 km to Maine. Another HG pilot flew from West Rut to Pico and back past West Rut only to turn around a while later and eventually end the day where he started! I saw lots of cold fingers and chattering teeth.
Meanwhile on the ground here at Morningside I was tickled to be a part of that familiar Morningside magic with so many awesome people hanging out and having a good time. Thanks to all of you for coming! Let’s keep it going- it is arguably just as wonderful as flight itself!
Accident Prep
On a less gleeful note, we did have one injury of launch at West Rutland. I have heard that people on launch did a good job taking care of the situation, taking care of the pilot and her belongings. Thankfully, it sounds like she will be alright after some time off, but it can’t hurt for us to remember this and use that situation to help us prepare for the possibilities.
For most of us, free flight is a hobby but it can certainly become serious and somber very quickly. We don’t have to dwell on it to the point where flying is more scary than fun, but the more we can do to physically and mentally prepare for when something goes wrong, the better our chances of success when situations arise. At Morningside, the staff has been practicing some emergency drills and I’m realizing that the simplest variables are hard to account for in an emergency.
My biggest take aways: keep the phone numbers of local fire and ambulance departments in your phones (and phones with you), an emergency contact sheet on you, and to watch out for a “hero complex” in situations where there are too many people trying to help/ people trying to do good in unhelpful ways. Whatever you do, make sure you aren’t adding to the problem at hand by getting yourself hurt as well.
We are planning to host several clinics this summer at Morningside, stay tuned for the tree rescue clinic in particular.
Glider Storage
We have re-organized our HG storage container to make more space for this year. It’s a great way to avoid the hassle of loading/unloading your vehicle every time you want to fly, and in the meantime you can take back your living room/garage! It’s an easy and much appreciated way to support the park, and keeps your glider from the wears and tears of travelling. Also, keep thinking of who you can convince to become a dunie (KHK outerbanks hang gliding instructor).
P.S. Happy 40th Anniversary Tom and Amy Lanning!
SEE YOU NEXT WEEKEND (MAY 29!)
-Gigi